


Origin (of good working relationships)

by orphan_account



Series: Togetherness Issues (and other Superhero problems) [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Feels, Gen, Kinda fluff, Part fix-it, Team Bonding, friendship fic, touch of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-05
Updated: 2013-06-12
Packaged: 2017-12-07 13:08:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 2,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/748848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony was not a team player, and he knew it. He was loud and obnoxious and self-centered, and he had done more harm than good in his life. He didn't deserve to have anyone watching his back, but he felt like maybe they deserved to have him watching theirs. So, when he saw the sad, sorry living conditions of the other Avengers, he couldn't help but do something about it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Vent Crawler

Clint was not ashamed to be living in the vents at SHIELD. He was under review, and most of the other agents couldn't even look at him after the Chitauri thing, so he was perfectly happy in his nest. Vending machines were an excellent source of nutrition, and he really wasn't ready to face Coulson's office yet; the agent had always kept a few meals hidden in a mini fridge disguised as a filing cabinet.

When he saw Stark wandering around looking suspicious, he grinned. It would be good for the man to receive a good shock, and Clint really just wanted to see the look on the billionaire's face.

When he dropped out of the vent though, Stark barely even blinked, looking at him with one eyebrow raised. "Are you living in the SHIELD ventilation system?" He asked.

Clint shrugged.

"Okay, no. This has to stop, this cannot be good for you, I mean what even gets in those systems, I'm surprised you haven't inhaled some deadly biological contaminant yet -"

* * *

How they had gotten from there to Stark Tower was a whirlwind of Tonytalk and blinking, and Clint didn't think he'd ever be able to say exactly what had happened, only that he suddenly found himself with half a floor to himself and full run of the Tower ventilation shafts, many of which were reinforced.

"Jarvis?" He asked, hesitant. "What just happened?"

"I fear you have fallen victim to the Tony effect. No one but Ms. Potts is capable of controlling the whirlwind that is Master Stark."

"That is a good way to describe it." Clint muttered, exploring the suite. It was functional and nicer than almost anywhere he had ever stayed, but it was nothing special. Until he opened a door to what he assumed was a closet.

And found a huge archery range, by far the best one he had ever seen. The wall to his left held several different bows and dozens of quivers, the wall to the right held neatly stacked and ordered targets of many sizes, shapes, colors, and styles. A medium-sized one came over to him and chirped; they were robots, and apparently they were capable of independent movement by rolling or by flying.

When he went over the room again, Clint realized it was in his favorite colors and had a clear line of sight almost everywhere he stood, as well as several entrances to the ventilation system.

For the first time since Loki played with his mind, Clint felt like maybe he'd be okay. Like maybe it really wasn't his fault. He knew from the files that trust was a fluid concept for Tony, but it was still nice. To be trusted.


	2. Disinhibitor

Bruce almost panicked when he ran into Clint on the main A-level floor of the tower. His first emotion was a need to hide.

Clint just raised his beer. "Banner," he groaned. "Din' know yer here."

"How drunk are you?"

"Not drunk enough, ifa sentencemksense."

"...why are you getting drunk?"

"Because I feelike it, n Tonys got good beer."

"Hawkeye here is feeling a little down, so I proposed getting smashed and hungover. At least once." Tony drawled, poking his head up from behind an armchair. Bruce hadn't seen him there. "He is enthusiastically complying with my suggestion, and winning me a bet."

"Oh?" Bruce didn't miss the fact that there was a beer in Tony's hands as well, but the billionaire was not drinking to get drunk, just to keep Clint company.

"Yep." Tony smiled. "Do you want one."

"Ah, no. Disinhibitors and I are not allies." 

"That's okay, everything is reinforced, Hulk couldn't break anything unless he tried."

"Still not drinking with you. I have a sim running in the - in my lab. I have to be coherent enough to check on it or it will explode."

Because Tony, being, well, Tony, had gotten him a lab. Better than any he'd ever worked in. And then he'd told him to have fun, ordered a literal ton of his favorite tea, pointed out the cot in the corner, and gone back to his own workshop. Tony had trusted him, and also not feared him. A lot of people thought they were the same thing, but they weren't, Bruce knew.

"I'll come pour you two into bed later," Bruce said, rolling his eyes.

"Thanks." Clint said, serious faced and not at all afraid, although that may have been the drink talking.

Bruce just nodded, before returning to the little haven Tony had given him.


	3. Along Came a Spider

Natasha came looking for Clint as soon as her mission was over. She hadn't thought Barton liked Stark, but also wasn't surprised that maybe the first impressions had been a little off. They were both snarky bastards with impressive masks after all.

She was more than a little surprised when JARVIS greeted her cordially and offered her a suite for the night.

It was neat and clean and fashionable, with a nice simplicity. She found four hidden weapon caches in twenty minutes, and grinned internally when she saw they were fingerprint locked. Easier to break into, but quicker in a pinch. 

The actual bedroom, though, was what got her attention. It was all vibrant blues and greens with a hint of white to balance everything against the darkwood floor, with a beautiful window view (bulletproof, she noted) and plenty of pillows and the softest rug she had ever felt. A tiny robot vacuum cleaner hummed softly back to its cradle.

"Tasha!" She saw an excited Clint poke his head out of a vent. "Check that one!" He pointed, eyes bright.

She opened the door as instructed and couldn't quite help the tiny, genuine sile that slipped across her face; he'd combined her two favorite things by giving her an armory hidden behind the glass of a ballet studio, according to the sticky note the hidden weapons were accessible only with a DNA handprint scan and a retinal and a normal pulse level (smart, they couldn't pull a Loki and just steal an eyeball), and they all looked custom made.

She may have to reassess Stark's personality. A little. Again. The man was like a Rubix cube, just when you thought it was solved, a piece out of place threw the whole thing off and you had to start over.

"Awesome, right? You should see my range or Banner's lab, though he's only let me in there once, and JARVIS can get..." Clint was like a kid at Christmas.

And Natasha just felt a little safer - the only word she could come up with was _home_.


	4. A New Battleground Called Home

Steve was on his way back to SHIELD to see if they still had an apartment for him when he was intercepted. 

"Oi, Capsicle!" Tony hollered from a sidewalk cafe, somehow not spilling the smoothie he was waving at him frantically.

"Hi, Cap," Clint and Bruce mumbled, slouching away from the attention the billionaire was drawing.

The situation was only likely to get worse, so Steve pulled his bike over and joined them, which somehow had led to coming back to the tower to properly meet Pepper and Jarvis (who was, apparently, a _computer_. Jesus.) and spend the night while SHIELD sorted out an apartment.

Only when he entered the room (which took up half a floor, it was bigger than some houses) after turning around from thanking Tony before he vanished down the elevator, his jaw dropped and he wondered if Tony used a slightly antique theme for all his guest rooms.

The technology was sleek and up-to-date, or, more likely, far before its public release date, but warm colors and leather gave the space an old-school feel. The bedroom, through the kitchen and living-room area, was all sleek modernity except an old fashioned alarm clock, radio, and quilt rather than comforter. Smooth wood floors were almost too warm, somehow heated, and Steve shook his head.

And then he found the art studio, wall-to-floor-to-ceiling windowed and full of so many different supplies he didn't even know where to start, including a shelf of books on art history and digital artistry.

" _Should you wish for any help with the technology or history you have missed, I can always be of service,_ " Jarvis spoke up, " _and I believe Master Stark neglected to mention that the others have rooms here as well._ "

"Thanks, J, I'll stay for a while." Steve said, still a little in shock.

" _Also, the common floor is on A-9, accessible by the private elevator. Would you like a layout of the Avengers' floors?_ "

Steve nodded, his soldier habits kicking back into gear. "Yes, and set up a head check on..."


	5. Thunderstruck

They all had a chance to meet Rhodey, who shared a floor with Steve, and Pepper, who apparently didn't have a floormate, when Thor arrived. Apparently the Bifrost had been repaired, thanks in no small part to the immense power wielded through the Tessaract. He arrived with much fanfare and panic on SHIELD's part - apparently they weren't equipped to handle guest rooms and feeding of demigods, so Tony's request for Thor to come to the tower was accepted, if with no small amount of trepidation, with something approaching relief once they received the necessary paperwork from Tony's two friends, along with Pepper's assurance to do her best to keep the lot of them out of trouble.

Thor was delighted to share his richly decorated floor with his shield-brother the good Doctor; and if he should ever wish to spar, Thor would happily oblige. He was even more delighted to discover that Jane had been given a job by Stark Industries and would be living with him. Tony was strangely absent.

"Master Jarvis," Thor boomed after his exploration of his chambers. "Please pass along my thanks to the man of Iron when he is not too busy and thank him for the home here on Midgard. It is a true honor to be allowed residence in his grand tower."

" _Of course, Sir,_ " Jarvis replied. He and Thor had been introduced in the immediate aftermath of the Chitauri invasion, shortly after Tony discovered his ability to eat copious amounts of anything put in front of him. His rooms were equipped with an enormous pantry and a mead hall, decorated fit for a king, although lacking the gold floors of Asgard. Perhaps that would be showy on Midgard; Thor had no doubt his shieldbrother was wealthy enough for such things.


	6. Let Dead Men Lie

The Avengers didn't feel quite complete. Tony had gathered them - Natasha, Clint, Bruce, Steve, and Thor - and Pepper and Rhodey stopped by, and Jarvis, but it just felt like there was something left unfinished.

Tony knew what it was, he just didn't want to face it. None of them wanted to face it. But someone had to, and why not that someone be capable of hacking to find out exactly what they needed to know without dealing with any of Fury's pet people?

None of them wanted to miss the funeral.

* * *

Tony stormed out of the lab just as Pepper arrived, his face glacier cold, so full of rage that whatever battle needed to be fought may as well already be won. His expression was the ash after an eruption, the cool competency of one of the top buisnessmen in the world.

Even Pepper took a step back. "Tony? What is it? What's happened?"

He met her eyes levelly. "SHIELD happened. As usual. Cancel my meetings, sweetheart, I've got business to take care of."

"I won't cancel them, but I can reschedule. You'll have a busy week ahead."

"Good, fine, whatever." Tony's voice stayed ice cold, Jarvis' silence emphasizing his creator's extreme display of emotion, all masks stripped away to reveal the raw emotion underneath. "Get someone to open the other half of your floor."

Pepper's hands flew to her mouth. "No."

"They damn well did."

"Murder them." Pepper, too, took on the appearance of the ashy remains after a fire. 

Tony swept out the door. Sharing a glance, Natasha and Clint followed, silently piling into the car Tony chose and pretending not to see the armored briefcase in the passenger seat. Anything capable of breaking Stark's masks to the point of such a blatant expression of emotion needed looking into.

* * *

Fury looked up from his furious argument with the injured agent in front of him when the door slammed open.

"I went looking for funeral dates, Fury. _Funeral dates_. And I find this." Tony was clear, concise, and let his emotion show on his face.

If Natasha and Clint didn't know better, they would have said the director paled.

"You needed something to -"

"Where." Tony cut him off. Clint's eyes widened at the ballsiness.

"Med wing 7, clearance code Pivotpoint." Natasha's eyes widened at the prompt answer. Tony spun on his heel and left the room at a fast clip.

"Stark? What on earth-?" Clint finally spoke up, trailing off.

Tony swept into medical like an avenging angel. Stunned agents and medical personell reacted too late to stop him. "Pivotpoint." he snarled. "NOW."

Clint's favorite doctor, who everyone just called Doc Pip, simply nodded and led them down the hallway to a locked door.

Clint and Natasha went white with rage themselves when they found Phillip J Coulson calmly staring them down as he climbed out of the hospital bed. "Finally." he said. "I thought maybe you'd lost your touch, Stark."

"Hardly. Are you coming? Your room's all ready, and I believe I promised you tickets to Portland?"

* * *

Phil stayed on the SHIELD payroll, but he moved into the tower with no fuss. When they asked him about it, he snorted. "I'm practically Stark's babysitter. Fury would just assign me here anyway."

**Author's Note:**

> I own nothing.  
> This is my first fic, please be mean so I can do better :) but not too mean.


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